Warm and Comforting
by Cyberlaydie
Summary: Peeta's bread doesn't always turn out right, but Katniss loves him anyway. One shot.


**Been in a bit of a Hunger Games mood lately, and was inspired to write this after an unfortunate cooking accident today.**

**Just a quick little one shot. Post Mockingjay, pre epilogue, but everything's good between Katniss and Peeta. Hope you enjoy :) **

Katniss woke grumpy, she had several nightmares that night, but none bad enough to wake her up. She groaned and rolled over to reach for Peeta, but was surprised when her hand hit the cold sheets, coming up empty. This woke her up a little more. She was alone in bed, and confused about where Peeta was.

As she sat up and rubbed her eyes she noticed the unmistakable scent of baking bread coming from downstairs in the kitchen. This made her smile as it always does, because it made her think of Peeta. She hopped up and bounced down the stairs, finding Peeta in the kitchen as expected.

He smiled when he saw her. "Good morning," he greeted her.

"Good morning," she responded. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and he reciprocated by pulling her close. She hadn't quite gotten over her bad dreams yet. "What are you making?" She asked.

"Cinnamon raisin bread," he said. A small smile cracked her lips, because the thought of cinnamon raisin bread took her back to a time in her childhood where she almost starved to death, only be saved by the good grace of the baker's son, to whom she would eternally grateful. She marveled in the fact that after everything they had been through the Capitol hadn't managed to take him away from her, and all these years later he was still the boy with the bread.

"Rough night?" He asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Nightmares."

"I could tell. You slept very restlessly." This made her feel a small tang of guilt. She always kept him up at night, whether it be from kicking and screaming, crying, or just tossing a turning restlessly.

"I'm sorry I woke you," she said, tightening her grip on him. He just held her tighter as well, and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay," he said in an almost childlike tone, and then kissed her. His kiss was soft and reassuring, the exact thing she needed this morning. It made her feel warm inside; a feeling she had been lacking for such a long time. "Hey, this breads about ready, are you hungry?"

"Yes very," she responded. She let her hand trail down his arm as he turned away, not wanting to let go. After he pulled the bread out of the oven he set it down to cool and returned to her. He held her and stroked her hair as she recounted the details of her dream to him. He listened as always, and she was glad that he was always around to comfort her.

He cut a slice of bread and handed it to her. It was still pretty hot but she took a bite anyway.

"So, I'm the greatest baker you've ever known and all the bread I make you is delicious and the highlight of your day, real or not real?" He joked.

"Rea—" she started to say after laughing and getting over the initial temperature, but then her mouth started to burn a little and she realized how strange the bread actually tasted. She turned to the trashcan and spit the mouthful out, coughing a little to try and get rid of the taste.

"Katniss?" He looked at her with concern.

"Peeta!" She remarked. "What did you do to this bread?"

He pulled a chunk off the loaf and popped it in his mouth, having the same reaction Katniss did and ended up spitting the bread out. "I'm not sure," he admitted.

He started trying to retrace his steps as she looked around. There was flour all over the counter and egg shells lying in the sink. The oven was on at the correct temperature, and the box of raisins and bottle of cinnamon sat innocently on the counter next to her. Something caught her eye though, and upon further inspection she realized it was not cinnamon at all, but a bottle of cumin. She started to laugh hysterically as Peeta looked at her like she was crazy. She held up the bottle of cumin in explanation and he started to laugh with her.

She hugged him and laid her head on his chest while they laughed together. "You're the greatest baker I've ever known and all the bread you make me is delicious and the highlight of my day," she teased him, but realized it had a ring of truth to it.

They spent the remainder of their morning making actual cinnamon raisin bread that ended up tasting wonderful. That warm feeling from earlier in the morning never completely left Katniss, and she realized that whenever she was with Peeta it never really did, and she hoped it never really would.

Normally a fire too hot would burn good bread, but somehow in their case it worked out perfectly and created something warm and comforting. The fact that she was safe and warm in Peeta's arms seemed like a minor miracle, but one she was thankful for because deep down (even if she wasn't ready to admit it yet) she really did love him.

**Daww. Hope you liked it. I'm sure there are other stories about mix ups between cumin and cinnamon floating around, and I apologize, but after flavoring my coffee with a big spoon of cumin this morning this fanfic was calling my name. R&R!**

**I love Katniss and Peeta so much, I think they're so cute.**


End file.
